GM Aravindh Chithambaram becomes first Indian chess player to qualify for 2026 Esports World Cup

Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram became the first Indian player to qualify for the Esports World Cup set to be hosted in Riyadh later this year. Aravindh, who will be representing Mumbai-based esports organisation S8UL at the World Cup, secured his place at the event by winning the Road to EWC qualifier at DreamHack Atlanta.

The 26-year-old had advanced to the Upper Bracket semi-finals from Group B after victories over Kyler Raines, Justin Liang, Oleksander Bortnyk, and Christopher Woo. He later defeated Woo 2-1 in the semi-finals after registering consecutive draws, followed by a victory over Russian GM Alexey Sarana in the UB Final.

Aravindh and Sarana faced each other again in the Grand Final that was played in a double-match format, where the Indian triumphed once again after winning the Armageddon decider, taking home $15,000 in prize money besides a spot at the Esports World Cup.

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Nihal, Pranesh also in the fray

Nihal Sarin and Pranesh M, who also are part of S8UL, are the other Indians who are in contention to qualify for EWC 2026. A total of nine players will be qualifying through the Champions Chess Tour Leaderboard, where Nihal finds himself in an ideal position to make the cut, while another four will book their places through the Last Chance Qualifiers. A final slot will then be awarded through the India Rising event that will be taking place in July.

World No 1 Magnus Carlsen was the first to officially qualify for the upcoming tournament by virtue of being the defending champion. Indian No 1 Arjun Erigaisi, representing Gen.G Esports, had reached the semi-finals of the tournament and eventually finished fourth after losing to Hikaru Nakamura in the third-place playoff.

Nihal, meanwhile, had reached the quarter-finals, where he lost to eventual champion Carlsen 2.5-0.5, and will be hoping to go even further this year, should he secure his qualification.